The highlights:
What is it?: It is a collar for a dog that goes around their nose and head so that you have better control and can stop pulling.
Does it work? Yes
Would I buy it again? Yes - I already have and now have 2 so I can use one and wash the other one.
Other options?: There are other head collar brands out there, but I have only tried this one, and it works so well, I'm not planning on trying another one :)
Where to buy: Amazon sell these. However, you can also get them from pet stores such as Pets At Home
If you want to jump to the substantive review part below for this product, you can do so by clicking here. If, however, you want to hear a bit more about Obi and why I needed something to stop him from pulling, then read on :) Also, did you know you can subscribe to get e-mail notifications of new blog posts winging their way direct into your (probably junk) e-mail box? I would love it if you would!
Introducing Obi:
The story of Obi and I
Obi and I have been together for about 7 years now - although we have both lived longer than that! I adopted him from the Dogs Trust when he was 7 years old, and he's now 14. Honestly, I had no idea how much you could love an animal until Obi dog came into my life. However, being a rescue dog, he came with significant issues. When I first welcomed him into his new home, he had terrible separation anxiety - if I left the room, he would follow me; if I went outside and closed the door on him, he would scream. We worked on that, and he's now very happy to watch me leave (provided that I follow our "pre-leaving, I still love you Obi dog, have a good day and I'll see you in a few hours" routine).
However, other issues he came with have been much harder to train out of him completely - the biggest one being his reactivity to dogs. Being a rescue dog, I have no idea what his history is, but he has serious issues with other dogs, and walking a reactive dog on a lead can be really hard work! When I first got him, he would jump and bark and pull whenever he saw a dog - even when the dog was at the other end of the football pitch! I love him, but as I took him out for a morning walk before work, this pulling and barking and jumping made me feel like every morning started with an argument!
What's more, it was an argument that he could physically win. He once saw a cat (being a lurcher, his prey drive is very high, and sighthounds can see the slightest movement from up to a mile away). Obi's thought processes were clearly that the cat needed to be chased. He ran after it and at the time I had not discovered the halti head collar, so I was walking him on his harness. As he chased the cat, I could not stop him. He was simply too strong for me. So I literally threw myself on the floor and he dragged me about 4 foot before realising the cat wasn't worth the hard work of pulling me along the grass!
I know this sounds like a funny story, and I can laugh about it now, but before using the halti head collar, I was certainly not laughing! If you have a dog that is reactive or that pulls to the point where it is difficult to walk him, you can probably relate to the emotional impact of the dread of every walk. This was so disheartening, because walking your dog should be an enjoyable experience! Yet, after every walk where we had encountered another dog, I was left with a sense of sadness and despair that was incredibly difficult to reconcile with how much laughter and happiness Obi brings to my life. At the point in our journey together (before discovering the halti collar), I would even get up at 4.00am just so that I could walk him with a lower risk of seeing other dogs! If you have a dog with problems, then it is probably quite a familiar situation where another dog off-lead comes running up to you, and their owner cannot stop them (recall is essential for dogs off-lead but so many dogs off-lead have terrible recall). They have a dog with no issues, so may not realise the impact of this situation. As you tense up and begin to freak out as their dog comes pounding towards you, your dog then senses and feeds off that, making the situation so much worse. Meanwhile, the other dog's owner shouts, "oh, don't worry, my dog's ok" - Great, good for you! Mine's not!
Every time this dog off-lead coming bounding over situation happened, it undid any progress that Obi had made. This meant that even where I felt we had had small wins along the way, we were right back to the beginning every time an incident like this happened! It was physically and emotionally draining! However, as time went by, some of the local people out walking their dogs started to see what we were going through, and how hard I was working with Obi. They began to help by putting their dogs back on lead, and allowing Obi to approach them while staying within his threshold of reactivity. This meant that his threshold improved every time he saw the same dog. With this effort of the kindness of others, I noticed that Obi became much better with dogs he recognised and knew - he can even play off-lead with a dog he knows - so I figured his reactivity to other dogs was actually based in fear, despite the fact that it comes across as aggression to the unknowing third party whose dog is fine.
Realising this, I needed a way to work on his confidence levels, but on a harness it was simply impossible - all of his power was in his chest and legs, and the harness gave him something to brace against, which just made him stronger! So I turned to the internet for help. I spent countless hours on platforms like YouTube watching videos on what to do when you have a reactive dog. I tried a whole host of training and techniques, but literally none of them actually worked - Obi's reactivity is based in some sort of post-traumatic stress, so the training out there for dogs who are reactive without it being psychological just didn't work for Obi dog. I needed to work on his psychological reaction to dogs, but to do that I had to be in better control of him. I started looking then for different types of leads and collars. I tried a slip lead, but this made no difference to Obi dog at all - he still pulled and jumped and barked, and almost choked himself in the process - we quickly turned around and went home that day!
Then, as if by magic, I discovered the halti collar. And, it was magic guys! I mean, absolute magic! It made everything change! In an instant!
The reason why this made all the difference is that it moves where I control him from his body (where all of his strength is) to his head (where very little of his strength is). He can no longer pull me over. He can resist me, and occasionally still pulls (like when he sees a squirrel - seriously! Sighthound!) but now I can control him and it is so much easier, because I am stronger than the power he has in his head. This little halti head collar has been a game changer! My walks with him are now enjoyable. I no longer tense up and freak out as a dog approaches us, because I can control him. I pull him behind me, stand facing the oncoming dog, and firmly say "no" - most dogs are so shocked by that they stop dead, looking at you, with tilted head.
Obviously Obi dog still has his reactivity issues, and I don't think they will ever go away completely because they are so deep rooted in his past experiences, but he is so much better now. The halti collar has meant that he no longer feeds off my tensing up and freaking out. I can stay calm, which means he is more likely to be calm. When I see a dog approaching, I hold the halti collar just beneath his chin, crouch down to his level, say "dog" and then give him a treat. I then keep saying dog followed by giving him a treat until the dog has passed us. I also lower the treat before he eats it, so he has to look down, which breaks the build up of tension inside him that happens when he watches a dog coming towards him. Slowly over time he has started to associate seeing dogs with reward and positivity.
Sure, we still have training to do. If a large dog approaches us, he still panics a little, and I always try to cross the road away from larger dogs, so we are still working on that. But he can now pass a medium or small dog on the same side of the road without having a meltdown. In fact, the change in him is so noticeable that local dog walkers here at my new home (we moved here about 4-5 years ago) have started commenting on the improvement in him - even they have noticed it! I cannot even begin to explain how incredible the difference is! I mean, really! Obi is happier, I am happier, and our walks are now a pleasure!
So, if any of this story reads familiar to you, please read on for the review and buy one of these to hopefully make your life with your furry family member better too!
The review itself
So, the halti head collar itself goes around the dogs nose, and over behind their ears to clip in place with a parachute clip. Here's what it looks like on Obi dog:
It also has a section below where you can attach the halti head collar to your dogs collar:
This is in case it slips off. I have had it slip off once in the 5 years of using this 2-5 times a day, and honestly, it was my own fault. The strap that goes around behind his ears had loosened, and I hadn't tightened it back up again, so one side slipped off over his incredibly expressive ear! So, just keep an eye on how tight it is when you put it on, and this shouldn't be a problem.
Side note: If you're wondering why we have walks 2-5 times a day, Obi now has arthritis, so we go on shorter walks more often - this is just part of his arthritis regime, which also includes daily meds, monthly injections, and weekly hydrotherapy treadmill sessions - the things we do for the dogs we love! With all these treatments, he sometimes doesn't realise he has arthritis! He is still very strong!
On another side note, I walk obi with a harness as well as the halti head collar - you probably wouldn't have to do this, but I do because if the halti collar did fall off and he saw another dog, he could strangle himself on his collar! Honestly, I think this is based more in my paranoia than anything else considering it has only ever slipped off his head once in the whole time we have been using this! If I got him a collar designed for greyhounds and lurchers, which is much wider around the neck and so wouldn't strangle him, then I probably wouldn't bother with the harness as well!
The parachute clip sits round the back of Obi's ear - I didn't realise I got this photo mid lick, but look at that tongue! lol!:
As you clip the parachute clip into position, just be careful the plastic of the parachute clip isn't touching your dog's ear. The clip has a bounce back to it as it fits into position and once Obi's ear was touching that. He yelped. I learned to put my hand against the clip in future!
The nose band that goes over the top of their noses is also slightly padded for extra comfort. There is also reflective material stitched into the head collar, so at night it has some reflection in the headlights of approaching cars. You can see from the photo, however, that this isn't a lot of reflective material, so you might prefer to have some reflective coat or collar on, or to get one of those rechargable light up collars that you can put on dogs for night time walks. I do use one of those, but cannot remember where I got it from, so have never reviewed it on this blog. I do like it for walks on dark mornings or nights as it is very clear from a distance as mine is flashing pink lights! If you are wondering what they are like, its this type of thing. Just know that I have not reviewed any of these items in this link, so cannot comment on which are individually good, but you should pick one that is rechargable, adjustable in length, and water proof.
Once the halti head collar is in position, you then clip the head collar to your dogs collar and then attach the lead onto the metal ring that is part of the head collar, and you are in control!
Also, the ones I have are machine washable, so I alternate between the two I have when one needs cleaning. And they do need cleaning because they sit around the dog's mouth, so saliva and bits of treats mixed together can make them dirty. Mmmmmm Yummy!
When picking your head collar, you need to check the measurements of your dog's head. You can also get these in a whole host of different colours. I have one in red and one in black. Just make sure that you check the size chart to get the right size for your pup!
Also, your dog's breed might make a difference as this might not work for all breeds of dogs. Because of how this goes around the dog's nose, I am not sure how well this would work for dog breeds with shorter noses, like pugs - I imagine it won't sit right and would easily fall off. That said, it looks like they do make one with an adjustable clip around the nose part, designed for breeds with shorter or broader noses, so do check those out. Also, if you have a breed with shorter or broader noses, you can always call or pop down to your local pet shop supplier to see if you can have one to fit and test in the shop before buying it.
From his perspective, Obi dog isn't a huge fan of wearing the head collar. The very first time he ever wore it, he pawed at his nose to try and get it off. Now, he tolerates it, but he often rubs his head along my legs to scratch his nose when its been on for a while, or when I have just taken it off at home after our walk. It doesn't, however, seem to bother him once we are out on the walk and there's all those "new sniffs" to distract him, so I figure having him rub his nose along me when I take it off is a small price to pay! I just have to be aware that he's going to do it or he gets me behind my knee and my leg gives way!
I would also mention that Obi isn't much of a chewer, so I have never had the problem where he has tried to chew through any of the material, but I have seen other reviews where dog owners have said that this has happened, so this might be a consideration for you if your dog does chew through leads etc. on walks. That said, I do struggle see how they could chew through it once its on because of how it sits on their head, but you know your dog best, so can make this decision.
So, if you have a dog that is reactive, or a dog that pulls on walks, and you are looking for a no pull dog walking option, give this a go! I did, and as explained in our story above, it has revolutionised our walks together!
Here's the link to the Amazon shop again in case you are convinced!
Happy walking! And, please subscribe if you want to get e-mail notifications of new blog posts! Would be lovely to see you here again!
with love
Rebecca
xxx
P.S. Please note that this blog may contain affiliate links (including those to Amazon). When you click on the link and purchase the product, I receive a small commission.
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